Escaping the Chrysanthemum cage

Meet Mako Komuro, the Japanese princess who created a storm of controversy when she sacrificed her ties to family, wealth and title to marry the man she loves.

- GENEVIEVE GANNON

On a cool autumn day, in a palace sequestered behind silver birches and surrounded by a large moat, Japan’s Princess Mako began preparing for her long-awaited wedding. Four lonely years had passed since she announced her engagement to her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro, and in that time the first flush of public jubilation had turned into criticism, bullying and scandal. The couple was separated for three whole years, and the marriage delayed time and again. But the beautiful young royal never wavered in her devotion to the man she loves, and after many nights of distress and longing, she was finally going to become his wife and relinquish her royal title. As she arranged her shiny black hair into a simple chignon, her face was set in an expression of determination.

“To me he is irreplaceable,” she would tell the world. “Our marriage is a necessary step for us to be able to protect our hearts in a cherishing way. We, the two of us, will start our new life. I guess there will be different types of difficulties, but we want to live together by working together.”

The “difficulties” she refers to include the savage public reaction to her romance, egged on by the tabloid press, a mouthpiece for the conservatives who guard the reputation of Japan’s monarchy. Commentators have likened the media storm to the controversy that engulfed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Mako’s beloved was deemed “unworthy” after the media published details of a financial dispute involving his mother, putting immense pressure on the bride.

That Princess Mako stared down the criticism is a testament to her courage, her loyalty and her love for the young lawyer who stole her heart, says Japan correspondent Julian Ryall.